Eannette Levy: A Short Story

After graduating middle school her friend lost touch with her and eventually left her life for good: “By the time she got to Welch High Dinitia changed.” Jeannette was also sexually harassed by one of her friends in Phoenix while playing hide-and-seek: “Billy smushed his face against mine… ‘Guess what?’Billy shouted. ‘I raped you’” Lastly, while going to school in Phoenix Jeannette was bullied for being smart and skinny: “The other students didn’t like me much because I was so tall and pale and skinny and always raised my hand too fast… A few days after I started school, four Mexican girls followed me home and jumped me in an alleyway…”

It was decided with her parents and the school, that the summer before her senior year, she was going to move and start a new life living with her sister. She had been saving money that she had earned throughout the years and figured she would have enough money to buy a one-way ticket to new York. Her younger brother Brian and her began counting the weeks, and then the days, until she would get on the bus and leave Welch, West Virginia. The day after summer break started, she packed a suitcase and got on the bus. She met her sisters friend at the bus stop at the New York bus station and got settled into Lori’s apartment, the next day she got a job at a diner and officially started her new life in New York, New York.

So far so good, in the pages I’ve read, there are so many messages conveyed in the memoir, but the main idea that interests me the most is the message of Self sufficiency. Self sufficiency is the ability to be able to supply one’s own or its needs without external assistance. In the first few chapters of the book, there is a prime example of Jeannette’s self sufficiency when she burns her self when cooking hot dogs at the age of three. How possibly could a three-year-old girl cook hot dogs for herself.

Patently, Jeannette had a mindset to give Brian and Lori a chance to prosper in life. Third, Jeannette overcame one of her bullies when she saved a poor black boy from a dog attack. Jeannette had been harassed by Erma, jumped by Mexican girls, and bombarded by Ernie

She was also a drunk and a little bit racist. She could never let go of her misery and perhaps that’s why Rex is such a heavy drinker now. The people in Welch were all like Erma, they were racist, like to fight and had something to prove. The kids at school would call Jeannette and her siblings poor and “special” for having accents. They were put in special classes because teachers thought they were slow even though they were smarter than the teachers.

Jeannette had a childhood of constantly moving from place to place with one personal item. In Battle Mountain, her mom had an actual job with an annual paycheck. Her family finally had a supply of food and had a smaller worry about money. She also developed many skills and life lessons in Battle Mountain that stuck with her. Jeannette learned to swim and experienced a crush.

Once she moves to New York and reinvents herself, she tries to forget her old life. No one knows who Jeannette truly is and what her life was like before. Firstly, she feels shame from her parents lifestyle and does not want her acquaintances to find out about the way her parents live. “It had been months since I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was overcome with panic that she'd see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the part would spot us together and Mom would introduce herself and my secret would be out” (The Glass Castle 3). Even though she feels shame because of her parents, she also feels guilty because how ashamed she is of her parents.

When Jeannette’s mom gives birth to her fourth child; named Maureen, Jeannette says to her, “I promised her I’d always take care of her” (46). She promises to take care of Maureen, and to take care of her Jeannette has to keep motivated and hope for the best, but also remain dedicated and try her hardest. Making that promise shows Jeannette is mature and she will accomplish whatever is possible for Maureen. As life moves on, Jeannette wants to feel like she knows what is going on in the world, “But a newspaper reporter… I decided I wanted to be one of the people who knew what was really going on” (204).

Her earliest memory at three years old is making hot dogs and catching on fire. Even though she screamed out of fear, like any three-year-old would, when she was told she’d be alright she responded “I know…but if I’m not, that’s okay, too”. It is baffling to me for a three-year-old child to be alright with not being physically “okay”. This was the moment that my admiration for Jeannette developed.

They think they can bend the rules and do what they think is necessary. Jeannette is exposed to these understandings, making her the person she grew up to be. Jeanette demonstrates how she struggles with her family throughout numerous portions of the novel: “The Desert,” “Welch,” New York.” These struggles developed and defined who she came to be.

Mary was an unorthodox mother who was often swaying back and forth between the temptation to pursue her selfish endeavor of becoming an artist and her duty as a mother to assume responsibility and support her family. This constant feud resulted in the entire family losing faith in her and becoming distraught. Jeannette’s mother was one of the key factors that contributed in the plan for her and her older sister, Lori to move to New York and start a fresh life there. It was with the realization that the only method in which they can prosper and live a good life was to leave their parents and start a life anew. Jeannette and Lori realized that they must think logically and think about progressing in life although this plan may not comply with the ideal plan of living together as an amalgamated

Whether it's learning how to swim, cook, or make friends, Jeannette learns to become a strong, self-sufficient women who makes a successful life for herself. When having to face adversity, Christy Brown in My Left Foot, Bethany Hamilton, and Jeannette Walls in The Glass Castle are perfect examples of how you can create a better life when overcoming adversity. To be able to be resilient and perservering when times are tough, are key to become a stronger, more well rounded adult. The ones who can accomplish this are the ones who can

The character of Jeannette in The Glass Castle shows the theme of adulthood, growing up, and coming of age in many ways. Jeanette deals with very adult issues at a very young age, and the chaos of her childhood forces her to mature fast, which shows the theme of growing up, and her success supports the thematic topic of “putting your past behind you”. What first shows the theme of maturity is the contrast between Jeanette's eventual success, and her parents way of life. When Jeanette meets her mother, Rose Mary Walls, in the streets of New York, we see how far Jeanette has come compared to her mother. She moved to New York at 17, became a successful journalist, and this moment at the start of the book represents a lot of emotion.

Jeanette’s childhood was shameful due to her parents careless way of living. Throughout The Glass Castle Jeannette hides her childhood just like she from her mother because she is ashamed of what people might think. Jeannette Walls lived a tough childhood because of her parents. They were always moving around trying to find a place to build a glass castle. They never gave any of their children a set home while they were growing up.

(115-116). This sedate tone is a clear craft move by the author. She specifically makes Jeannie seem resigned and about to give up. Denials of small, everyday, opportunities like this can have a damaging impact on one’s mental health and can create an inferiority complex. For example, Jeanne starts blaming herself and her race for everything that happens to her.